Heidi Allen Digital Strategy

Every year more and more businesses turn to social media to get their message out, many are not sure on the return that they are getting or the effectiveness of their strategy.  Hubspot publish a yearly report on the cost effectiveness of some of these methods.

Traditional ways of getting your message out there (outbound shotgun approach using newspaper adverts, direct mail, flyers, tradeshows etc) can be prohibitively expensive, particularly for small companies. Inbound marketing (where people opt-in using social media such as blogs, facebook, twitter) provide new and very efficient ways of reaching an audience.

As an example, I do some work for a not for profit organisation BodyInMind.org (in fact we make no money at all) whose main aim is to disseminate high quality research on the topic of pain research.  Using social media has proved a very effective means of not only reaching a niche audience but of enabling them to spread the message further.

If you are looking for marketing advice this report will give some good pointers as to what is effective and why. Along with evidence as to which platforms work best depending on what it is you are looking to do

You are just starting out.  Brand new website.  Brand new product.  The midnight oil has been burned, energy levels are high. But…. visitors to the website are low.  Social media followers grow at an infinitesimal slow pace, and you wonder if you are doing it right.  Chances are, you are.  Stick with it.

This is from the veritable hubspot team on the success of a landscape gardening firm.  Some may think it would be hard to blog, facebook and tweet about lawns but this is how they did it.  And what I really like is that they show the results comparing some of the things they did before and after.

On the health side this is a great article on how a doctor uses google to market and recruit patients. A website is not enough.

Reshaping your sales effort

Did you know that the average corporate social business program is only three years old? Some companies are already defining best practices. Alitmeter have produced a superb report on how to prepare for social business. It’s free. It’s very good.

Some points that I pulled out from it are here.  The full report is at the end.

Many companies are looking at using the latest social media technology, yet most have not prepared for the threat of social media crises, or the long-term effects on business. To become advanced in the use of social media as an organisation there are four recommended steps. First, develop business objectives and establish governance, then get organized by establishing a team and a process to deal with crises. Next, connect business units to increase coordination and reduce duplication. Finally, weave real-time market response into business processes and planning. Advanced companies prepare for social business with the following four internal requirements:

1. Baseline Governance and Reinforcement: Established and reinforced a corporate social media policy that allows employees to participate professionally
2. Enterprise-Wide Response Processes: Defined processes for rapid workflow and engagement with customers in social media
3. Ongoing Education Program and Best Practice Sharing: Fostered a culture of learning through ongoing social media education
4. Leadership from a Dedicated and Shared Central Hub: Organized in a scalable formation, with a cross-functional “Center of Excellence”

Social media crisis management strategy

As part of a company’s digital strategy, a crisis management strategy- including an escalation plan for dealing with negative comments should be formulated including outlines of rules responsibilities and possible actions

A social media crisis is an issue that arises in or is amplified by social media, and results in negative mainstream media coverage, a change in business process, or financial loss.

Crisis can be categorized according to 3 severity levels:

Level 1: crises that result in negative coverage in mainstream media
Level 2: crises that result in negative coverage in mainstream media, and a significant response or change by the company
Level 3: crises that result in short-term financial impact.

In the majority of cases crisis can be prevented or diminished with thorough preparation and staff training.

Source Altimeter report (August 2011) Social Business Readiness: How Advanced Companies Prepare Internally

Causes of Social Media crisis primary stem from the exposure of poor customer experiences, poor influence relations or violations of ethical guidelines.  Most companies that suffer from a social media crisis lack proper social media internal education for employees.

The Social Business Hierarchy of Needs

These recommendations are organized by dependency – much like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Companies must first meet baseline needs at the bottom of the pyramid before moving on to the next set of requirements.

And here is the most excellent report.  THANKS Altimeter for making it freely available.

For Employers and potential Social Strategists these latest posts from Jeremiah Owyang are very important. Having been asked many times recently whether I know anyone who would be good for a role as a digital strategist, how to interview, what to look for, and also vice versa – who to work for, what to expect – what does the role even look like – it’s worth taking a look at the Career Path of the Corporate Social Strategist below and what questions to ask a potential future employer:

Questions to ask a potential employer for a digital strategy position:

1) What level of executive support do we have?
2) Is the company ready to span social beyond one department?
3) Is the company ready to engage in negative conversations in public?
4) What is your future vision of success look like?
5) What resources will I be provided?

Jeremiah expands these points really well and develops them into a scorecard – the score giving an indication as to whether to walk away or what working for the company may feel like

Vivienne Storey (@mysocialpolicy) is General Manager for BlandsLaw, a legal firm specialising in social media risk management in the workplace. She spoke on the legal aspects of a good social media policy in the workplace at a recent social media for women event. Here is what she had to say:

Dismissing an employee because of Facebook comments or employee public arguments on social media platforms are real legal issues for companies, however, banning social media in the work place is not effective (people have smart phones like an iPhone or Blackberry). Many employees are confused as to how to use social media and a good company policy can guide them.

A social media policy is different from social media guidelines

• Keep your social media policy succinct.  Summarise it with guidelines. A social media policy may be 9 pages, the guidelines 1 page.
• Don’t write your policy in legalese – write it in plain English

Guidelines include advice such as reminding employees:

• That one-on-one conversations are being watched by others.
• Don’t drink and tweet

Things to consider in your policy:

• Who owns the LinkedIn database – employee or company
• Don’t cross private and business accounts.
• Don’t friend clients.
• Include crisis management (who to go to and what for)
• Don’t use phrases like ‘use your good judgement’ or ‘use your common sense’ in the policy.  Define what these are.
• Client confidentiality is a legal consideration. For example clients may not want you to check into foursquare  highlighting your meeting with them
• Protect your online name and passwords so that employees who move on don’t take them with them
• A social media team at a company should include marketing, comms, HR, legal counsel, IT.

Vivienne blogs at My Social Media Policy

The Science of Blogging

Dan  Zarrella from HubSpot has put together a stonking presentation on the Science of Blogging. Some of the nuggets

• People want to read your unique point of view
• Talk as yourself not about yourself
• Stay away from overly technical jargon
• Users comment when there is something in it for them
• Write simply, and plainly
• Don’t say the same thing everyone else is saying

Lots of stats

• Most / least shared or retweetable words (‘bored’ doesn’t do very well, but then neither does ‘iphone’)
• Grammar matters
• Videos get links, photos get comments
• Keep the reading grade level lower, and you’ll get shared more – I guess that fits with ‘stay away from overly technical jargon’
• Blogs are read and commented on more in the morning (between 9 and 10) and also read late at night (after 10pm)
• Publish your blog posts early in the day
• Share your posts on social media later in the day
• Post early in the week for views and links  and weekends for comments
• Share your posts in social media later in the week and on weekends

Link to audio voiceover of presentation here (you may need to register)